


Remembrance

by marimoes



Category: One Piece
Genre: Anxiety, Birthday, Emotional Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Post-Marineford, Pre-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23229517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marimoes/pseuds/marimoes
Summary: Sabo struggles with the fear of losing his memory again after remembering Ace and Luffy. Koala seeks guidance from Dragon, and he has an idea.
Relationships: Koala & Sabo (One Piece), Minor Sabo/Koala (One Piece), Monkey D. Dragon & Sabo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 66





	Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday you beautiful boy, you deserve nothing but happiness. ❤️

After remembering Ace—after remembering Luffy—Sabo is a mess. 

It takes Koala pinning him to the floor, forcing him to take deep breaths to calm him down. She doesn’t know who these people are, apart from their bounties in the paper, nor why they would cause Sabo to act this way. He’s always been emotional, wearing his heart on his sleeve ever since she met him all those years ago—but this is something different. 

This is not Sabo’s soft heart, no, this time it’s bleeding.

Through shaking hands and explanations, he tells her everything. The trees, the riches, their plans, his letter; all of the details that were lost to the last decade. All the while, Koala’s eyes turn glossier with each word. 

Tears spill freely onto her cheeks hearing about the brother he just lost, along with his brother he still has out there, who is hurting just the same. 

Sabo changes a little then. He holds on tighter to people when they hug him goodbye, or shake his hand. He will scribble things constantly in books that have started to fill his room. All to keep from forgetting again, Koala knows. 

When she tells Dragon, she does so early in the morning when she knows Sabo is still asleep. If he knew she was worried about him enough to talk to Dragon, she’d be dealing with something worse than the burden that weighs on her chest. 

In his office, Dragon listens with wordless nods, and when Koala’s voice starts to shake he holds his hand out. 

“I have an idea,” He says, face set in stone while clenching her hand, and Koala nods. 

She leaves his office feeling lighter, but she sinks once more when walking into Sabo’s room. The man is sprawled across his bed, hair mussed just so across his face, and still has tear stained cheeks. Beside him lay books, each open to different places, marked with ribbons or feathers tucked in the pages. 

Picking one up, Koala opens it to the marker only to find the page filled top to bottom with Sabo’s handwriting. It’s about her. How she talks, the way she laughs, her favorite foods, her biggest fears. 

Flipping through, the entire book is like that. A running memoir about their time together, leaving no detail spared. 

“You know so much,” Koala whispers with a smile, and places the book back against the sheets.

The feeling of displacement causes Sabo’s eyes to open, just a sliver, letting the morning light catch the cloud in his left iris. With a groan and a clumsy reach, his hand wraps around her wrist, tugging her gently to him. 

“What are you? A child?” Koala laughs softly, but let’s herself be pulled onto the bed, tucking against the curve of Sabo’s body, “Then I suppose I am one too.” 

“You are,” He murmurs into her hair, pressing his nose against her neck, “if I have anything to say about it. Even if you are older.” 

Koala sighs, hands folding over Sabo’s against her stomach, and drifts back to sleep within his hold. All the while knowing that he is cataloguing each moment, capturing everything he can before sleep takes him again. 

The next week, Sabo pretends he doesn’t know what day it is. For his “birthday” was decided amongst the rest when they found him, and he couldn’t recall his own. Now that he remembers it, he doesn’t say, and leaves them to make a fuss over him like they do every year. 

Not that he minds the attention. 

“Happy birthday, Chief,” Koala croons, placing a small paper crown on Sabo’s head. She watches as unease colors his face, and jerks it back off without a second thought. “Sorry, I forgot.” 

He smiles and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder before laughing, “Don’t worry, I did too.” 

The crackle of the speaker den den fills the air above them, and from its mouth comes a short blip of a noise followed by the announcement, “Sabo to Dragon’s quarters, Sabo to Dragon’s quarters.” 

Koala looks at him, trying to hide the excitement in her eyes and gives a short nod in Dragon’s direction. Sabo’s eyes fall, eyebrows furrowing while he clearly tries to figure out what he could’ve done to warrant being called in on a day like this. Dragon has never once celebrated his birthday before, so the thought doesn’t even cross his mind. 

When he knocks on the door and Dragon calls him in, Sabo walks slowly. 

“Come on, come on, we don’t have all day. You’re not in trouble,” Dragon grumbles and holds a hand out to the chair on the other side of his desk, “Just sit.” 

Sabo bounces in after that, grin wide on his face as he falls back into the chair. His legs cross, giving a single bob before Dragon reaches into a drawer and gives him pause. 

“Ah, you didn’t get me something did you? I thought we had an understanding about this,” Sabo groans, sinking further in the chair, “Don’t tell me you went out of your way or I’m gonna riot.” 

Dragon gives a soft snort at the threat of rebellion and Sabo’s grin pulls tighter on his face. He knows he’s a favorite, something Dragon will always deny, but he doesn’t have to say it. Sabo knows. 

“I did, and we do, but I don’t care,” Dragon states and places a solid black box on the wood between them, “Open it.” 

Sabo reaches out, hands folding around the box, and hesitation sits in his fingers as they rest on the edges. He’s never been this wary in Dragon’s office before and now the cause is a present? The irony doesn’t escape him. 

Pulling the lid off, the shine within grows brighter with the light catching it. Within the box, held in black velvet, sits a pocket watch. It is polished gold, ornate design covering the top. Sabo turns it over in his hand, and finds that the back is inscribed with his name. 

“Sir, this is,” Sabo starts to protest but Dragon holds up his hand, silencing the argument, “this is beautiful. Thank you.” 

Holding it, Sabo lets the watch hang on its matching gold chain, and feels his throat tighten. He’ll have to write about this tonight. 

“You should open it,” Dragon says, gesturing towards the pin at the top, “maybe now you won’t run late to meetings.” 

With narrowed eyes, Sabo lets the watch drop into his hand before pushing in the release. The watch pops open to reveal a clock, ticking forwards with the current time, and Sabo smiles at his reflection in the glass. 

Out of the corner of his eye he spots him: Luffy. 

Pressed against the empty shell of the watch are several photos, all small and collaged together to fit within the space. They’re of Luffy, of Ace and of the other revolutionaries. Sabo stares at it for a moment, and tears start to brim in the corners of his eyes. 

“Don’t cry in my office, save that for your own time,” Dragon says, placing the lid back onto the gift box, “Know that what happened to you won’t likely happen again, but if it does, you have this to remind you.” 

Dragon watches as Sabo opens his mouth, words not quite forming before he shuts it again. He does this twice more before sighing, and Dragon clears his throat. 

“Koala told you, huh?” Sabo whispers, eyes still fixed on the pictures, “Thank you, Sir.” 

Dragon smiles, a quirk on his lips, and nods. With a silent hand, he gestures towards his door, and Sabo tucks the watch into his coat pocket. 

“I understand that there is a celebration out there for you now,” Dragon says, and laughs once at Sabo’s rolling eyes, “Enjoy yourself, but be prepared to go over the new plans tonight. You don’t have an excuse to be late anymore. ” 

Sabo jumps up to stand, and walking back to the door gives a short salute. “Understood.” 

“And Sabo,” Dragon calls out just as he pulls the door open, “Happy birthday.” 


End file.
